Wednesday was an unusual night for Luke Kornet, in a great way.
Kornet played 26 minutes in the Celtics’ Game 5 matchup with the Knicks, eight minutes more than what he averaged per game in the regular season. The veteran big man made the most of his extended run by stuffing the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven (!) blocks in Boston’s 127-102 win over New York at TD Garden.
The eighth-year pro was showered with “Luuuuuuke” chants as he put together his career performance, which hasn’t exactly been a staple from Green Teamers in the playoffs since Kornet joined the C’s in March 2021. The 29-year-old also was pulled aside for an in-game interview with TNT’s Allie LaForce — a request typically reserved for superstar players.
“When that happened I was like, ‘Oh, OK, sure,'” Kornet told reporters after Boston kept its season alive, per The Boston Globe. “But you just sort of take it. I unfortunately was a little tired and didn’t have my usual wit and charm.”
What Kornet did have Wednesday night was the energy and penchant for playmaking that the Celtics desperately needed after falling into a 3-1 series deficit and losing Jayson Tatum. The 2017 undrafted free agent’s big night also was especially impactful when you consider how little Boston received from fellow big man Kristaps Porzingis, who continues to be troubled by a lingering illness.
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Can Joe Mazzulla and company expect those kinds of numbers from Kornet every night? Probably not. But he should see another uptick in minutes Friday when Boston plays a do-or-die game in New York.